Maned Wolf
Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a wolf. They have minor similarities to the red fox. The average adult weighs 23 kg and stands 90 cm tall at the shoulder, has a head-body length of 100 cm with the tail adding another 45 cm. Its ears are large and long. Its long legs are an adaptation to the tall grasslands of its native habitat. The fur may be reddish-brown to golden orange on the sides with long, black legs, and a distinctive black mane.
The coat is marked further with a whitish tuft at the tip of the tail and white beneath the throat. The mane is erectile and typically is used to enlarge the wolf's profile when threatened or when displaying aggression.
Habitat
They make its home in central South America, extending from north-eastern Brazil, west into Peru and south through Paraguay. It also lives in parts of Argentina and Bolivia, and possibly Uruguay. It prefers open habitats such as tall grasslands, low-scrub parts of forests edges and sometimes swampy areas. In Brazil, it lives in the cerrado, a big area of savannah and open woodland, one of the world's principals of biodiversity.
Diet
The Maned wolf are omnivores and they eat small and medium-sized prey, such as small mammals like rabbits and rodents, birds, and fish, and much of its diet, perhaps over 50%, is vegetable matter, such as sugarcane, tubers, and fruits.
Breeding
Maned wolves are monogamous and mate for life. A male and female will share a territory but only come together during the mating season, from November to April. Male and female together find a den to house the pups. The males protect their den while the pups are being born. The gestation period is 60 to 65 days, and a litter consists of 2 to 6 pups, having black fur and weighing about 450 g (16 oz). They are fully grown at one year old. During their first year they rely on their parents to provide food.
Population
According to IUCN, as of 2015, the Maned wolf population was estimated at 17,000 mature individuals, including 15,849 in Brazil, 613 in Paraguay, 487 in Argentina and less than 1,000 in Bolivia. The ICUN classifies the maned wolf as Near Threatened(NT) and their population trend is unknown.
Threats
The four main threats affecting their population are: habitat loss and alteration, especially due to conversion to crop fields and pasturelands; human persecution due to livestock losses and cultural beliefs; increasing vehicular traffic in highways resulting in road kills; and pathogens contracted from domestic animals due to increased contact in disturbed environments. The intensive conversion of native habitat for agriculture results in loss of optimal habitat and creation of areas often subject to desertification. The fragmentation of highly suitable habitat causes isolation of subpopulations and often results in the remaining intact landscape become intersected by high-speed roads. Many Maned Wolves are killed on roadways throughout its range. Extreme climatic conditions such as uncontrolled fires and droughts are likely to exacerbate the scarcity of living resources and consequently the loss on roadways, as Maned Wolves are forced to travel farther for food and water; the latter is especially important during periods when females are lactating.
Direct interactions with humans also pose a threat to the species. Conflicts with people, road mortality, the potential for infectious diseases spread by domestic dogs and direct persecution resulting from widely held superstitions and beliefs, are the primary threats facing Maned Wolves. In some areas of Argentina, Maned Wolves are persecuted with hunting, trapping, and shooting due to a mix of long-standing cultural beliefs, general ignorance of the species, and trophy hunting. In Brazil and Paraguay, this targeted persecution of Maned Wolves extends beyond the traditional and natural medicine needs to include the low public tolerance of poultry depredation, for which Maned Wolves are constantly blamed. In some areas this hunting pressure is so high it is having a significant negative effect on local Maned Wolf numbers. While illegal trade is not common they found it was widespread in Argentina, and even included the sale of young animals or pups to private zoos and collections. Of the Maned Wolves kept in captivity in Argentina during the last five years 68% were wild-born and came from/were victims of illegal trade, road collisions or were orphaned after their mother was killed.
Domestic dogs pose a serious threat to Maned Wolves on several levels, as often times domestic dogs accompany humans into the field for recreation and hunting. In addition, both Maned Wolves and dogs overlap in their use of habitat that has been converted to agriculture and pasture. Dogs are known to pursue Maned Wolves, which often results in the killing of the animal. Dogs are also a source of infectious diseases and parasites. However, the epidemiological effects remain unclear for Maned Wolf conservation. In a Bolivian population, Maned Wolves were serologically positive for two domestic dog pathogens that can cause pup mortality and high levels of potentially fatal (Dirofilaria immitis) and debilitating (Dioctophyme renale) parasites were detected. In Brazil, Maned Wolves were serologically positive for several dog-related infectious diseases including parvovirus, canine distemper virus, coronavirus, and leishmaniosis.
Conservation
Legislation
It is included on CITES Appendix II. Maned Wolves are protected by law in many parts of their range, but enforcement is frequently problematic. This species is classified as Endangered in Argentina and declared a Provincial Natural Monument in select areas, including Santa Fe, Corrientes, and Chaco. It is classified as Vulnerable in Brazil. Hunting is prohibited in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and in Argentina. The species is included in the United States Endangered Species list.
Presence in protected areas
This species occurs in many protected areas in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru
Occurrence in captivity
As of January 2012, 150 institutions held a total of 394 Maned Wolves (182 males, 211 females, one unknown) in captivity.
Other
In Brazil, conservation actions to reverse population decline have focused on addressing the issues associated with the human dimension. Raising public awareness and using proactive methods to prevent conflict are among the main tools used in increasing tolerance towards the species. In addition, campaigns to vaccinate domestic dogs in areas that border or overlap with Maned Wolf populations have been ongoing for several years. New proposals to reduce the high number of road kills in southeast Brazil have been discussed at a political level. The 2005 Population and Habitat Viability Assessment workshop for Maned Wolves generated an Action Plan aimed at addressing the five main themes that affect the long-term conservation of the species across its distribution: 1) threats and habitat management; 2) distribution and status; 3) environmental education, social aspects, and economic alternatives; 4) ex-situ conservation; and 5) population dynamics and modelling. Each of these themes addresses gaps in knowledge for the species or specific problems associated with the species survival. Each theme was broken into multiple goals with specific actions set to address the associated problems, names of personnel responsible for seeing the action is completed, the timeline for when these actions should be completed, associated costs, potential obstacles, and expected outcome defined (Paula et al. 2008). As a follow up to this workshop, Brazil and Argentina used information on recent and ongoing changes in the species’ status and threats to modify the international Action plan and generate specific National Action Plans that could help direct local efforts in Maned Wolf conservation. In 2014, the Brazilian government officially recognized the technical advisory group (originally formed in 2010) aimed at assisting the government on implementing the strategies developed in the National Action Plan. A Maned Wolf working group has also been implemented in the continental level under the coordination of the IUCN SSC Canid Specialist Group, with an aim to ensure long-term coordination among researchers across the Maned Wolves distribution and work together to share strategies directed at reversing population decline.
In Argentina, the GAAG (Grupo Argentino Aguará Guazú or Maned Wolf Argentine Group) was founded as a national strategy to develop, manage, execute, and monitor the Action Plan for the Maned Wolf’s conservation in Argentina. The group comprises 16 institutional members, which includes provincial and national government agencies, zoos, NGOs and research groups from universities and museums. Between 2002 and 2011, GAAG carried out 10 regional workshops aimed at: 1) mapping threats for Maned Wolf in natural habitats; 2) prioritizing conflicts in the wild and problems in captivity; 3) prioritizing strategies and actions for its ex-situ and in situ conservation; 4) developing recommendations for conservation in the wild and management in captivity; 5) developing efficient education strategies for Maned Wolf conservation both in situ and ex-situ, and 6) validating methodologies and strategies for conservation education. Since 2005, five species-directed projects have been developed and include work in five of the eight provinces in the Maned Wolf’s distribution. Extensive surveys of farmers and ranchers have provided valuable information about the distribution of the species and also about people's attitudes towards Maned Wolves. Ongoing education programs are aimed at changing negative perceptions of this wild carnivore.